Just Call
by MagickalMischief
Summary: Sarah gets a bit tipsy and accidentally summons Jareth. She agrees to tour the Underground with him. Could this be a second chance at her dreams? Rated T for suggestive content.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: **_This is my first ever published fan fiction, so please be gentle with me! I've been kicking this idea around for a while now and finally got up the gumption to post it. I haven't decided yet whether I'll continue the story. Please let me know what you think!_

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

"Bye you guys! Have a great time!" Sarah called after the minivan pulling out of the driveway. Toby waved enthusiastically at her out of the back window and she flung air kisses back at him as van drove off down the street. Once it disappeared from sight, Sarah turned and went back into the house, pulling the door shut behind her and turning the lock. Leaning back against the doorframe, She closed her eyes and reveled in the silence of the empty house. After living in a dorm for three years, silence truly felt golden to her. Sarah was looking forward to moving into her own apartment in a couple of months for her senior year of college, but for now she was fancy free and home alone for a whole two weeks!

Pushing off the doorframe and yipping with delight, Sarah unbuttoned her jeans and shimmied out of them, tossing them over a couch back. Freedom! Being home alone meant she didn't have to get dressed or clean or anything if she didn't want to, and she was going to take that for all it was worth. Skipping over to the stereo, Sarah selected the Queen album and cranked up the volume. Bobbing her hips to the beat, Sarah danced in circles around the living room, singing "Fat Bottom Girls" at the top of her lungs along with Freddie Mercury. Sarah threw back her head and laughed, thinking how much Karen would disapprove of her antics. Tension between the two of them had faded over the past six years, but Sarah still thought Karen was too tightly wound.

All afternoon, Sarah puttered around the house in her shirt and underwear. She sat down to read for a while but found she was too distracted by the empty house to concentrate on the pages. An old movie on TV and painting her toenails helped to pass the time as the sun slid low in the sky. As the credits began to roll, Sarah decided she should probably eat something. Padding into the dusky kitchen, Sarah opened the pantry and frowned at the assortment of school lunch type snacks that crowded the shelves. Well she sure as hell wasn't cooking on her first night alone, so they would have to do. Sarah grabbed a handful of fruit rollups and kicked the door closed. Pausing at the kitchen counter, Sarah considered the well-stocked wine rack over the kitchen island.

Deciding that she would buy her dad a new bottle if he noticed one missing, Sarah plucked a bottle from the rack. She dropped her fruit snacks on the countertop while she searched for a bottle opener and glass. Sarah gave herself a full pour and raised her glass to the empty kitchen. "To freedom and no expectations!" she toasted and took a drink. Gathering the open bottle, her makeshift dinner and the glass of wine, Sarah plopped herself back in front of the television. The opening credits for Gone With the Wind were coming on. "Ugh." Sarah sighed. _I love this movie, but if I get sucked into watching this, it'll be 1 am before it's over_, she thought as she glanced at the clock. _I'll just watch through the barbecue scene while I eat my roll ups._

As the men ran off to war, Sarah clicked off the TV and dropped her head back on to the couch. Two hastily consumed glasses of wine on a practically empty stomach had left her feeling all warm and fuzzy. _What to do now? It's too early to go to bed, but I can't spend all night in front of the TV. I've got it, a bath! A bath in Karen's new Jacuzzi tub. Yes!_

Grabbing her glass and the half empty wine bottle, Sarah fairly skipped up the stairs. She crept into her dad and step-mom's room, not bothering to turn on the light. With the moon shining through the French doors, the room was filled with soft blue light. She very seldom had occasion to come into their room, let alone at night, but she was struck by how little they had changed the room in so many years. A dresser now stood where Toby's crib had once been, but the same sheer curtains hung over the windows and the same chintzy ruffles hung from the bed frame. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine it was 6 years ago and she was standing in front of the Goblin King who had come for Toby. During her time in the Labyrinth, he had seemed so threatening, but over the years Sarah couldn't help but remember . . . certain parts of him with a kind of wistfulness. And had he really meant all those things he'd said at the end? _I wonder what I'd say to him now? 'Wait! Send Toby home and keep me. If it's babies you want, it's babies you'll get! Rrawrr!'_Sarah snorted out loud with laughter and ambled into the bathroom.

Sarah shut the door behind her so the heat wouldn't get out, set the wine bottle and glass on the bathroom vanity, and turned on the taps. As the large tub began to fill, she squeezed in a generous amount of some bubble bath she'd known was under the sink. Humming to herself, Sarah wriggled out of her shirt and underclothes and stood in front of the vanity to pull her hair up, twisting it into a bun high on her head so it wouldn't get too wet. Looking over at the still nearly empty tub, Sarah frowned. This was going to take a while.

Taking a seat at Karen's make up counter, she looked herself over in the mirror and drifted into thought. She really ought to get in touch with Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo. For some reason, she could only call them from her childhood home, so it had been months since she'd spoken to any of them. Sometimes she felt bad about losing contact with them, but friends grow apart all the time, right? It just didn't feel right talking to them about boys and her social life at college, so they seldom did more than make small talk and play board games when she did see them. In fact, there were a lot of things she was afraid to discuss with them. As an unspoken rule, none of them ever spoke about the Goblin King. Both Hoggle and Didymus worked or him in some capacity, and Sarah wasn't really sure where their loyalties were. Probably things were complicated, like everything else in the Labyrinth. Maybe she would call them later on. Besides, she observed, coming out of reverie, she was naked and the tub was almost done filling.

Sarah slid into the hot bubbly water and heaved a sigh. Within moments, she could feel sweat beading along her brow and the little hairs on the back of her neck curling and clinging to her skin. The gentle ebb and flow of tipsiness still niggled at her brain. _I thought I was so grown up when I went through the Labyrinth. Not that I'm a grown up now, per se, but I certainly have matured since then. I wonder if I would make friends like before if I had to go through now. But maybe I wouldn't need to make friends, what with the Goblin King being in love with me and all — if you can believe that book._Sarah smiled to herself and tucked her dripping hands behind her head. _What was his name, anyway? Hoggle had said it once. It was something unusual. Like Jared, but different. Jarret? Jarren? Jareth? That was it, Jareth._

Just thinking about him gave her butterflies. She had often wondered if he was really anything like she remembered, or if her idea of him had evolved as she'd gotten older. Without meaning to, she would find herself wondering about him periodically. 'What would he think of this dress?' or 'I wonder what he wears to bed?' He was such an enigma it was fun to imagine different facets of him. Sarah rolled his name around in her head. _Jareth, King of the Goblins. Goblin King Jareth. His Grace, King Jareth. Or was it always so formal? Hoggle had called him Your Majesty, but also by his first name. Hmmm. Sarah and Jareth. Jareth and Sarah._Sarah smiled at the thought of the two of them as a pair. She wanted to feel his name on her lips, hear it in her own voice, and taste it like a good line of poetry. Closing her eyes and settling down further into the tub, Sarah sighed, "Jareth."

"Well, well!" Sarah started, causing water to slosh in the tub. Her eyes widened when she saw it was the Goblin King who spoke, sitting casually on the sink with his back against the wall. "I had hoped that you would call for me someday, but I never imagined it would be quite like this. I must say, Sarah, I am impressed with your boldness." He smiled slightly, tilting his head as if humoring her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh! Oh – oh my goodness!" Sarah pulled up her knees to try to hide her nudity, hoping the bubble bath offered some coverage. "How did you – I mean why are you here?"

"You called for me, Sarah. Don't you remember what your friends said? 'Should you need us, for any reason at all'?" with a turn of his wrist, he produced a crystal and began to absent mindedly roll it around his hands, "Surely you didn't think I would allow myself to be excluded from that delicious prospect of invitation?"

Mouth agape, Sarah's mind raced and she suddenly felt very sober. The last time he came when she'd called, it had been to take Toby. But Toby wasn't here, and she was home alone. He couldn't be here for her . . . could he? Plus, she was naked! Could this get any worse? "But I didn't mean to – You can't have me! I won't let you turn me in a goblin!"

"A goblin?" He stilled the crystal in his palm, threw back his head and laughed. "Really! If I were going to steal away with you, my plans would be much different than that." The smile on his face fell a little, "You do know how I feel about you Sarah. After all I offered you, I had hoped that you would think better of me than that."

"So that was real?" She blundered, then, embarrassed by the tactless question, amended it quietly, "I mean – I thought it was just a trick."

The Goblin King looked away to mask a pang of dejection with feigned nonchalance. "I would have thought you'd learned the power of words in my world, Sarah. I always mean what I say."

Silence settled between them. Sarah tried to decide whether this revelation made the awkward situation better or worse and how she was going to get out of her compromising position without him seeing her naked. Knowing that he had been serious all those years ago definitely changed things. Never imagining they would meet again, she had filled her head with lewd thoughts of him. There was no denying that, but where did it leave her? Jareth broke the silence, gesturing to the forgotten wine on the counter next to him. "Do you mind?"

"Um, no, I guess not. But we can't stay in here, I'm . . . not decent!"

Jareth smirked but ignored her. With a roll of his wrist, the crystal orb he had been holding turned into a wine glass that he then moved to fill. His eyes swept over her naked shoulders and he resumed his bemused and suggestive demeanor. "So it would seem I've been on your mind. I wonder if your thoughts are as innocent as they were when we were together last? Would you care to share what you were thinking about when you called my name with such bated breath?"

Sarah blushed and ducked her head to conceal a small smile, feeling like the cat who ate the canary. _He's not going to let me out of this easily, is he? Well two can play this game._

Schooling her face into something more closely resembling challenge, she tried to pretend she wasn't naked and muster some self-confidence. Her eyes gave him a deliberate once over, admiring the way his pale gray breeches clung to the line of his hip and thigh. "No, I don't suppose I would."

His grin widened. "Such a pity. And next you're going to tell me you aren't even going to invite me into the bath.."

"You would be correct. Now would you please hand me a towel so I can get out of here? Since I invited you – however accidentally – I guess I should try to play hostess – which means putting on clothes, for a start." No point in dancing around the situation.

Jareth raised an eyebrow and looked like was going to say something saucy but thought better of it. He jumped down from the counter lithely and pulled a towel from the rack. Stepping close to her, he held the towel to himself and leaned over to try to peer down through the water.

"Do you mind?" Sarah shrilled and grabbed at a dangling corner of the cloth.

Jareth just smirked and turned to leave to room. Pausing as he opened the door, he looked over his shoulder at her. "You can't blame a chap for trying," he laughed.

_Good grief, what have I got myself into? He's worse than a college boy! _Sarah rolled her eyes as she stood up and covered herself with the towel when she heard his footsteps on the stairs. _I totally forgot how sensational his pants were, though. Wow! _She shook herself, mentally. _Seriously though, flirting is one thing, but I can't let this situation get away from me. I've never been one for random hookups, and I'm not about to start now. Though wouldn't that be one heck of a story? Okay, okay. I'm not thinking about this anymore. Be sensible, Sarah._

Figuring it was better than changing back into just her t-shirt and panties in case he came back upstairs, Sarah decided to make her way back to her bedroom wearing the towel. Stepping slowly since her eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness, Sarah slunk down the hall to her old bedroom. Considering her clothing options, she decided on something feminine but casual. Sarah slipped into a tiered peasant skirt and camisole. She couldn't really ask him to leave, but she certainly wasn't going to dress up for him.

Steeling herself, Sarah padded down the stairs and found that Jareth had made himself comfortable in the living room. He was sitting sideways in her father's recliner, one leg thrown over the arm, reading the back cover of her paperback. Sarah tried to avert her eyes from the unapologetically prominent bulge in his pants. She paused to close her eyes and mentally shoo away any inappropriate thoughts before they could develop any further. Coughing lightly to announce her presence, Sarah moved to the couch and tried to surreptitiously slide her discarded jeans behind her, hoping he hadn't noticed. Cellophane wrappers from her childish excuse for dinner littered the coffee table. _What a disaster._


End file.
